madmatt

Do more thorough testing of Notebooks for use as Digital Audio Workstations

Laptops submitted by defenestration 02/23/07

I am hoping to get a new laptop soon and for the last few months I have been doing a lot of research on various notebooks, and had settled on either the XPS M1710 or the M90. Then I came across the following thread on the Notebookreview.com forums mentioning that both these systems have problems with firewire when connecting audio-related peripherals, resulting in freezing and sound drop-outs.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=73829

This means that these notebooks are not ideal for use as a DAW. Please can you do more thorough testing of laptops with a view to using it as a DAW.

I expect a new model of both these notebooks when Santa Rosa (965PM / ICH8 chipset) is released in April, and would hope that these new laptops will not suffer from the same problems, thereby allowing them to be effectively be used as DAW. Comment »

The ULTIMATE Laptop

Laptops submitted by codecurl 04/20/07

A year ago I bought a maximum spec Dell Inspiron 9400: I put as much as I possibly could into it - 17" TrueLife 1920x1200 display, 2GB RAM, fastest Core Duo at the time, fastest available hard drive, best video card option etc. etc. But it's not enough for me!

As a professional software engineer, this is what I really want (and no, I don't want a desktop):

- 20" TrueLife 2600x1620 display
- dual 160+ GB harddrives so I can do RAID stripe level 0
- 2 max speed Core Duo - so Quad Core
- 8 GB RAM
- max graphics
- a better keyboard than the Inspiron
- a slightly more rugged case
- easily upgradable ... its never fast enough

This has got to weigh in under 5.5 Kgs to be luggable on my back, and I know it would not be cheap, but it would be worth it. 4 Comments »

2560x1600 or higher resolution support for laptops with docking stations

Precision Workstations submitted by glascock 02/20/07

Our frequently-traveling engineers are slighted because Dell travel-intended notebooks do not support very-high resolution monitors (such as the Dell 2560x1600-resolution 3007wfp). These engineers plug their notebooks into docking stations on their desks, unlike their less-frequently-traveling counterparts, who use Precision 470 workstations with very-high-res graphics cards. I think Dell makes only one notebook (the 8.61-pound Dell Precision M90) with a chip that could handle the 3007wfp, but I've been unsuccessful at confirming that a dual-link DVI connection through a docking station is available. The 24" and 27" Dell monitors are nice, but their 1920x1200-max resolution is not a substitute for the value of 2560x1600. Comment »

Why Can't Dell Put Linux On Their Really Serious Notebooks?

Linux, Service and Support, Laptops submitted by kenjennings 08/09/07

These guys can do it...

http://www.emperorlinux.com/mfgr/dell/rhino/


Dell Latitude D830 or Precision M90

# up to 17" WUXGA w/ X @ 1920x1200
# Full Linux support: 1667 - 2333 MHz Core 2 Duo
# Full Linux support: 512 - 4 G RAM, expands to 4 G
# Full Linux support: 60 - 160 GB Hard Drive
# Full Linux support: DVDROM Drive, or CDRW/DVD Drive, or DVD+/-RW Drive
# Specification: 6.3 - 8.6 pounds
# Full Linux support: 10/100/1000 Mbps ethernet
# Full Linux support: 802.11a/b/g (54Mbps) WiFi
# Specification: Linux Pre-Configured (dual boot available)
# Specification: EmperorLinux user's manual
# Specification: Three year warranty & One year tech support

They've got everything working on Linux. Maybe Dell should partner with these guys to get a better selection of Linux-able Dell notebooks.
25 Comments »

Upgrade Precision M90 BIOS to support more use of 4GB RAM

Precision Workstations submitted by solarcanine 06/18/07

Currently on my Precision M90 workstation, I have 4 GB of RAM installed. However, because the current BIOS doesn't support a better memory mapping system, in Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit), I only get the use of 3326 MB of the RAM.

Please release a BIOS update for the Precision M90 line to address this (no pun intended) and allow your high-end machine to provide more horsepower for your users that invested in that power. 4 Comments »